The beginning of October greeted southwest Florida with a pleasant change. Our first touch of cooler weather and lower humidity after a long hot summer made for perfect fishing conditions. The winds were a little breezy at times, but overall the fishing is very good.
Redfish and snook were very active and feeding throughout the day, both high water and low tide the bite was equally good. We had several days where it was possible to get the slam of snook, redfish and trout without moving the boat. Pictured is David Riser with a 38 inch snook, 25 inch redfish and 20 inch trout to complete his slam. His brother, George also scored with a slam of his own.
Some large schools of redfish are also around roaming the flats and bars, when you get into them it can be non-stop action. Most of the school fish are running from just under the upper slot (27 inches) to well over thirty inches. Pictured below are brothers Bob and John Newcom holding a pair of many redfish caught from a large school in the Harbor.
Large Spanish mackerel have moved back into Charlotte Harbor as they begin their migration south with the cooler weather. Bluefish, sharks, trout and way too many ladyfish are also working the same bait schools with the macks. This action should only get better as the month progresses. Below is Weston Davis with a big toothy mackerel caught near Bokeelia.
The month is running right on schedule, bait is plentiful and it’s pleasantly easy to fill up the live well in the mornings with shiners (pilchards) and pinfish. The weather and water is gradually cooling down and the fish are getting very active and hungry. October is a month where it’s hard not to be on the water fishing in southwest Florida.For charter information, please contact us at:
“Catch the Action” with Captain Bill Russell
Phone: 239-283-7960
Website: http://www.fishpineisland.com/
E-mail: gcl2fish@live.com
